Misadvised, Misunderstood and Mistaken
by LostxAndxFading
Summary: Gabriella witnesses a compromising situation that puts her and Troy's relationship on the line. How can she decide between truth and lies when her whole world seems to be crumbling around her?
1. Chapter 1

**Misadvised, Misunderstood and Mistaken**

**A/N:** My first High School Musical story! Thanks to Titanic-fanatic for inspiring me to write again. You broke my long-time writer's block. THANK YOU!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Troy, Chad or Gabriella. I do, however own this storyline and Lindsey/other new characters.

Chapter One

Gabriella slowly shook her head, locks of smooth black hair swaying from side to side and brushing gently up against her olive skin. Tears trickled down her cheeks, staining them with the pain she now felt inside.

"Gab," Troy's voice shook with hidden emotion. "Gab, please…"

Gabriella shook her head faster, turning her glassy brown eyes towards the ground. She bit her lip, desperately holding back the fresh batch of tears that were threatening to fall.

Troy reached out and took Gabriella's hand. "Please understand."

Gabriella looked up into Troy's teary eyes and blinked back more tears. "I understand what I saw," she replied quietly.

Troy's eyes were the only things that gave away any emotion as he took a deep breath. "But what you saw was wrong, Gab. It wasn't me!"

"Then who was it?" demanded Gabriella; fresh tears escaping her big brown eyes. "Was it Chad? Zeke, maybe?"

Troy shook his head, closing his eyes momentarily. "That's not what I mean. I wasn't me… I – " He looked desperately into his girlfriend's eyes. "You've got to believe me!"

"I don't know what to believe, Troy," she murmured, staring at Troy's hands gently squeezing her own.

"Believe me," insisted Troy, his brilliant blue eyes willing Gabriella to look up at him. She didn't.

"How can I? I saw it, Troy," her voice softened. "You tell me one thing, but my eyes tell me another."

"Gab-"

Gabriella raised her eyes to look directly into Troy's. "Troy, I'm so sorry, but I can't do this. We can't go on like this." With that she pulled her hands from his grasp.

"Gabriella no! You don't mean that!" Troy's hands were suspended between himself and Gabriella, wanting to hold her.

Gabriella removed the "T" necklace from her neck and placed it in Troy's hands. And without another word she turned and ran around the corner, disappearing into the night, trying to leave the pain behind.

Tears finally trekked down Troy's face, trailing down to drip off of his chin and landing on the T necklace. Troy looked down at it through blurry eyes, remembering the memories the necklace held within it's crystallized exterior.

"**The Wildcats' superstar is... afraid?" "No, no, I'm not afraid. I'm just... scared."** "You know, I once scored 41 points on a league game." "No way." "Mhmm. Yeah, and on the same day I invented the space shuttle and microwave popcorn." **"In my other schools, I was the freaky Math girl. It's cool coming here and being... whoever I want to be. So, you want to do the callbacks?" "Hey, just call me freaky callback boy!" **"When I was singing with you, I felt like just a girl." "You even look like one too!"** "I don't want to do the callbacks either. I mean… who are we trying to kid? You've got your team and now I've got mine. I'll do the scholastic decathlon and you win the championships. It's where we belong. Go Wildcats." "But I..." "Me neither."**

Taking a deep steadying breath, Troy turned slowly and walked down the street towards his house, his shoulders sagging and his feet dragging.

Gabriella sat on her bed, flipping tearfully through her scrapbook. Pictures of her and Troy smiling lovingly at the camera littered the book's every page. Memories.

With a sigh she closed the book and lay on her back on the large bed. She couldn't stop seeing Troy behind her closed eyelids. No matter what she did, that awful scene wouldn't leave her alone…

She was walking down the long corridor in the college, on her way out from the Science club. If she was lucky she'd be able to catch Troy as he left basketball practice. She was a little late leaving today, but hopefully he would still be there.

_She pushed the heavy gym door open and paused with the door resting against her hand. She glanced around the room, hoping to find Troy practicing after the others had left. Her breath caught in her throat as she spotted her boyfriend._

_Troy was against the wall, his hands resting lightly on the sides of the lean blonde who was pressing into his body. The two were lip-locked, her hands placed on the nape of his neck_

_That was all Gabriella needed to see. She turned on her heel and raced out of the gym and down the corridor, chased by the haunting clang of the strong gym door closing shut behind her – barring Troy and the mysterious girl in the gym, getting farther and farther away the more she ran…_

Troy lay on his back in his bed. Grabbing the basketball from the dresser beside him he began tossing it up into the air and catching it. His mind was a blur. He was slowly piecing together what Gabriella must have thought happened. He was a mixture of emotions, going over the situation in his head over and over again, trying to find a sliver of solid proof to show to Gabriella to prove that he wasn't cheating on her…

"Don't stay here too much longer. You don't want your dad to come here expecting to find you sinking jump shots and instead see you smooching with Gabriella," advised Chad, giving Troy a slap on the back before jogging across the gym to follow the rest of his team-mates out the door.

_Troy smiled to himself, sitting down on the bleachers to wait for Gabriella._

"_What are you smiling about, Troy?" asked an overly peppy voice._

_Troy turned to see Lindsey, the head cheerleader, sit down beside him and turn her quizzical blue eyes on him._

_Troy shrugged. "Nothing really."_

"_Oh." Lindsey moved closer to him, her thigh toughing his leg. "What are you doing here so late after the others have left?"_

_Troy found it pointless to point out that they had only left moments before. "I am waiting for Gabriella."_

_Lindsey shook her head. "Troy, don't you realize that you can do so much better than her?" She placed her hand on his shoulder._

_Troy stood up, uncomfortably shaking off Lindsey's hand. She followed him. "Lindsey, Gabriella is my girlfriend." Troy walked over to the edge of the bleachers towards the door where he expected Gabriella to enter through._

"_But why?" Lindsey grabbed Troy's hand. "Why do you settle for her when you can have someone like me?"_

_Troy slipped his hand out of the cheerleader's grip and took a step backwards. "Lindsey, stop it."_

_Lindsey placed her hands on either of Troy's shoulders and smiled coyly, flipping her long blonde hair flirtatiously over her shoulder. "Stop what?" she asked innocently, lightly massaging Troy's sore shoulders._

_Troy swallowed hard. "Lindsey…"_

_Lindsey leaned in close to Troy and whispered, "You know you like it." With that she leaned in the full way and locked her lips with Troy's. Her hands rubbed the back of his neck._

_Troy placed his hands on either side of her body, gently trying to push the girl off. His eyes closed and his body shuddered at the intensity of her kiss._

_CLANG!_

_Troy's eyes opened to see, over Lindsey's shoulder Gabriella's long hair flying behind her as she raced down the hall._

"_Gabriella!"_

With a deep inward sigh, Troy caught his ball and set it on his chest. His arms fell to his sides as he stared up at his ceiling, the shadows from the night casting into his room. The basketball rolled to a floor with a dull thud, echoing Troy's empty heart.

**A/N:** Any opinions yet? Do you like the format? Review and let me know if this is a keeper or not. Thanks! Lots of love!


	2. Chapter 2

**Misadvised, Misunderstood and Mistaken**

**A/N:** I apologize for the long wait between updates. I was busy preparing for Midterms and my Singing Exam and wasn't really able to find time in between to write. Now, however, I hope to be updating regularly again.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Troy, Chad or Gabriella. I do, however own this storyline and Lindsey/other new characters.

Chapter Two 

Troy entered the college doors and marched down the middle of the hallway, fully intent on finding Gabriella before her first class. His brilliant blue eyes scanned the corridor to no avail.

"Troy!"

Troy kept on walking forward, paying no attention to the pretty blonde who had fallen into step beside him.

"Troy, why are you here so early? Your first class doesn't start for another hour." She batted her eyelashes, trying to catch Troy's forward set eyes.

Gritting his teeth, Troy continued to silently march towards the end of the passageway, towards the corner that led to the hallway where he knew Gabriella's first class was located.

"Troy?"

He was almost at the corner… Troy turned the corner only to have Lindsey wrap her arms around him and rest her chin on his shoulder before he was able to check for Gabriella. He gave her a startled look. "What are you doing?"

Lindsey pulled her head up to look straight into his eyes. She smiled. "Oh Troy, honey, I know you must be having a hard time with something, and I want you to know that I am always here for you, ok?"

Troy's eyes has widened at the word 'honey'. Honey? Was that something girls called people now, or was it something more meaningful? Didn't she know he was dating Gabriella?

"Ok?" Her blue eyes locked with his, searching them for an answer.

"Uh…" Troy pulled out of her grip and turned to face the doorway that lead to Gabriella's first class. The door was shut, which meant that there was no way he could contact Gabriella until Science class ended.

"I said," growled Lindsey. Then she gave her head a tiny shake and pasted a smile back onto her face again. "I said that I was taking you out to lunch."

Troy shot her a quizzical look. "Oh?"

Lindsey nodded. "Just be outside this door at noon when the class is done. Toodles!" She turned and pranced away, waving her fingers over her shoulder. She reached the classroom door, and after spinning a tale about her sick Grandmother in the hospital, she was admitted into class with not so much as a second thought.

Troy rubbed the back of his neck, staring at the polished floor uncertainly. Then with a deep sigh he turned and walked down the hallway towards the student lounge, where he planned to wait for Gabriella.

"Get a partner and work!"

Gabriella jumped at the harsh tone of her instructor's voice before mentally shaking herself. That was all the instructors in college ever did – yell. It was way different from high school, and she didn't like it.

Someone tapped on Gabriella's shoulder and she turned to face a slim brunette girl. "Do you have a partner yet?"

Gabriella shook her head and slid sideways on her bench to make room for the other girl to sit down.

"Thank you." The girl set her bag on the floor and produced a notebook from within its depths before taking her seat. "I'm Morgan, by the way." She smiled, her hazel eyes lighting up.

Gabriella returned the smile. "I'm Gabriella Montez."

Morgan nodded. "So how about getting this Science started?"

Gabriella laughed and the two girls set to work on their project.

Troy sat in the poofy chair with a Sports magazine laid out on his lap. It remained untouched as his eyes, glazed over, were staring elsewhere – seeing everything again, trying to make sense of it all.

"Hey man!" Chad slapped Troy on the back, coming up behind him.

Troy blinked a few times, returning back to the present. "Hey." He watched as his friend sunk into the chair opposite him.

"What's up, man? You weren't in the gym this morning like you always are."

Troy gave him a puzzled look for a moment, until realization dawned upon him. "Oh. Sorry. I was just… in here."

A worried frown appeared on Chad's face. "Troy, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." Troy forced a smile onto his face that looked pathetically fake. "Really."

Chad leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Troy – we've been buddies since Pre-School. I know when something is up with you, so you may as well tell me what's going on."

Troy grit his teeth and averted his gaze to the ground. Was it really worth it to tell Chad what was going on? It wasn't a big thing – he just needed to talk to Gabriella and clear things up. There was no sense making a bigger deal about it then it really was. Troy shook his head. "Naw, man." He grinned again - this time a real one. "It's nothing. I just need to clear up a little misunderstanding."

Gabriella closed her notebook. "There we go."

Morgan looked over at Gabriella with an admiring gaze. "You're amazing at this!"

Gabriella shot her new friend a wry grin. "I was the 'Science Geek' in all my other schools."

Morgan laughed. "Oh really? I was the 'Math Nerd'!"

Gabriella tossed her books into her bag. "I know what that's like."

Hoisting her bag onto her shoulder, Morgan stood up. "Do you have any plans for lunch yet?"

Gabriella bit her lip, momentarily thinking of Troy. Then with determination she said, "No."

"Want to go out for lunch? We could go to Pizza Place a few blocks from here."

Gabriella smiled. "Sure."

Troy glanced at his watch. He and Chad had become so immersed in reminiscing about the Wildcats that he'd lost track of time. Gabriella's class had ended almost ten minutes ago! He leapt to his feet. "Sorry – I have to go!" And with that he bolted out of the Student Lounge and down the hallway, leaving Chad shaking his head with a knowing smile on his face.

Troy skidded around the corner and stopped short. The classroom door was open and everyone had left. The hallway was deserted, save for one person – Lindsey.

**A/N:** I am finished my Midterm now, but still have my Singing Exam to deal with. I will try to update soon, though! Thanks for the reviews – keep them coming!


	3. Chapter 3

**Misadvised, Misunderstood and Mistaken**

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews – I am glad people are enjoying my story. I am still in the set-up part of my story – the actual plot will unfold soon enough if you keep tuned.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Troy, Chad or Gabriella. I do, however own this storyline and Lindsey/other new characters.

Chapter Three 

Lindsey skipped over to Troy. She placed one slender hand on her hip. "Troy Bolton – you're a little late, don't you think?"

Troy's eyes paused their scanning and flitted to the cheerleader. "What?"

Lindsey shook her head. "All right Troy. _I_'ll take _you_ out for lunch then." She hooked her arm with Troy's and began walking around the corner and out the front doors of the college.

The girl nudged the flustered Troy into the passenger's seat of her car and she hopped in the other side. Buckling up her seatbelt, she turned to Troy, smiling broadly. "How hungry _are_ you?"

Troy blinked a few times, clearing his head. He turned to the girl in the driver's seat and wrinkled his forehead. "Hungry?"

Mistaking Troy's question as a statement, Lindsey hopped up and down in her seat, clapping. "Oh goody! I thought you'd be!" She turned the key in the ignition and gave Troy a sideways smirk. "I know just where to go. Hold on!"

"Wait, wh-" Troy's protest was interrupted as the vehicle shot backwards into the student parking lot, narrowly avoiding a collision with another student's truck.

Switching the car to 'Drive', the two young adults sped out of the parking lot and out into the street with Troy hastily fastening his seatbelt into place.

Gabriella sat in the booth facing Morgan, munching on her slice of pizza.

Morgan reached over and took another slice of cheese pizza from the center of the table where the pizza platter was set. "I'm thinking of becoming a nurse."

Gabriella nodded politely, trying her hardest to listen to what her friend was saying. Despite her best efforts, she found herself gazing out the window while chewing thoughtfully, wondering what Troy was up to, if he was thinking of her, what really was going on…

"Gabriella?" Morgan prodded Gabriella with the end of her straw. "You ok?"

Gabriella smiled, wiping the drops of Coke from Morgan's straw off of her arm. "Yeah – yeah I'm fine."

Morgan's eyebrows furrowed. "Are you sure?"

_No._ "Yeah." Gabriella nodded, taking another large bite of pizza to prevent herself from spilling everything to the other brunette.

Morgan shrugged, sticking her straw back into her drink and slurping noisily.

Lindsey parked her car and checked her reflection in the review mirror. She smiled and winked at her reflection before reaching for the door handle. "We're here!"

"Lindsey."

The girl paused, hand on the door. "Yes, Troy?"

Troy locked gazes with the girl, attempting to get through to her by showing the intensity of his feelings through his eyes. "I don't want to…" Troy paused. Now that he had the girl's attention, he couldn't find the right way to say it.

Lindsey cocked her head inquisitively.

"I don't have feelings for you like that." There. He'd said it.

Lindsey was silent for a moment before breaking out into giggles. "Feelings? What are you talking about, Troy? This is just lunch. Don't get ahead of yourself!"

Troy found himself blushing in embarrassment. This was just lunch. It wasn't like they were on an official dinner date or anything. "Yeah, sorry…"

Lindsey smiled broadly before hopping out of the car and slamming the door behind her.

Troy rubbed the back of his neck. _What's going on here?_

Sunlight pooled onto Troy's lap as Lindsey jerked his door open. "Are you coming?"

Troy unbuckled his seatbelt and walked beside the bouncing Lindsey into the restaurant. They two gazed at the menu. Troy hadn't looked at the name of the diner they'd come to, but by the menu selections, he guessed that he was at a pizza diner.

Gabriella was listening, more closely this time so as to not arouse suspicion, to Morgan talk about her family's occupational past as Health workers. She sucked some Iced Tea through her straw.

"Trrooooyy!"

Gabriella took a sharp intake of breath – a bad idea, considering she was in the middle of slurping Iced Tea. Liquid filled her lungs and went up her nose. She coughed, sputtering the dark substance across the table and onto a shocked Morgan's pizza.

"Troy, honey! What should we get?"

Gabriella turned to glare angrily over the top of her booth. There he was. With _her_ hanging off of his arm and squealing his name like a little child.

Troy pulled his arm out of Lindsey's grasp. She ordered at the till, then turned to Troy, pouting. "I forgot my purse in the car. Could you pay this one for me?"

Troy, reached into his pocket and obligingly pulled out a wad of bills. He paid the cashier and stepped off to the side to await the food preparation.

Lindsey walked over to Troy and flipped her hair over her shoulders flirtaciously. "So what are you up to tonight?"

Troy stared at the blonde, bewildered. Had he not just told her he wasn't interested? "Umm… I don't know yet, but –"

"Great!" The cheerleader hopped up and down on the spot, giggling. "I know the greatest club to go to!"

"Club?"

"Yes, silly, club." Lindsey's eyes lit up mockingly. "Don't tell me you've never been to a club before!"

Troy's face flushed. He had done his fair share of partying, but never had he gone to a club. He had never before been presented the opportunity.

"You haven't!" Her tone was gleeful. "Oh! This is going to be great! I'll show you everything you need to know!" She stood on her tippy-toes and gave Troy a peck on the lips.

Troy took a step back. "Lindsey…"

The pretty blonde kissed Troy, right on the lips. Gabriella audiobly gasped – yet another not-so brilliant moment, seeing as her lungs hadn't fully cleared out her previous inhaling of liquid. She coughed, leaping back into her seat so as not to be seen by Troy. In doing so, she managed to set the table off balance and send both drinks and the pizza platter clattering to the floor.

Breathing normally at last, Gabriella looked up to see Morgan's embarrassed expression and, out of the corner of her eye, Troy rushing over to their table, Lindsey left in the dust at the cashier's desk.

Gabriella leapt to her feet, muttered a quick apology to Morgan, and raced out the entrance doors, tears of embarrassment, hurt and anger stinging her hazel eyes.

**A/N:** Keep reviewing! More reviews faster updates! A win-win situation! I will _definitely_ be updating more often now. Keep on reading and writing – it's the only way to experience sheer "author bliss".


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